Partway - Part I
by Hustler 101
Summary: A boy awakens cold, alone and frightened; surrounded by a world he does not recognise. His clothes are torn, his memory is shattered and he is left with just one thought. Run. Join him as he begins to unravel the mysteries surrounding his past, but beware, things may not always be as they seem.


It started as a card game; it became a way of life.

The world was crazy, but it worked.

Except that all changed, the day the King of Games was killed.

 _Boy_

He awoke, retching and spluttering as he struggled for breath, his chest felt like it was closing in and he had to force the air down. His heart was thumping, his muscles screaming, bones moaning, brain pounding - his whole body crying out to him to stop. But he couldn't stop. He could never stop. He had to keep running.

The Boy scrambled to his feet, picked up his bag and urged forward through the dust but… _wh_ y? An icy wave of fear and panic wriggled its way into his veins as he realized he had no idea where he was, or who he was! He fell to his knees, body shivering - suddenly realizing how cold it was – as terror completely took over.

"HELP ME!" He screamed, clutching his head. "SOMEONE PLEASE!" But no one came, of course nobody came, he only had to look around to realize why. "What's going on?" He said to himself in a now raspy, broken voice. "Where is everyone? Who… Who am I?"

Eventually he did look up; the sky was scorched red and dotted with miserable black clouds that colonized angrily over different parts of the land. Something was burning his skin but it didn't feel like the Sun. The ground was quite flat, a dusty grey color and covered with tiny sharp stones, like a desert with no sand, endless in every direction. There were no signs of life anywhere, no plants, no animals, no trails to follow, not even any wind. Nothing.

He plucked a bit of dust and rubbed it between his finger and thumb, sniffing as it fell. It felt strange, every bit as dry and rough as it looked but something was wrong. Unconvinced with his findings, he put his bag back down and grimaced at the floor. _The bag!_ He grabbed it and tugged at the zips, they were rusted and reluctant to move but gradually edged their way down. It was a rucksack covered in small rips and patched in several different places. Reaching in, his hand closed around something rounded and smooth. Water. There wasn't much so he took a small gulp and hesitantly – his body now realizing how thirsty it was – put it back. Next to emerge was this... Thing. It was a strange looking machine with round and triangular parts, buttons and a small screen. It looked like it had been heavily used as all the colors had faded. A _communication device?_ He thought, pushing the largest button that said 'CONNECT' several times but nothing seemed to happen.

There wasn't much left in the bag now, the useless machine took up most of the room and panic began to creep its way back as he still hadn't found anything really worthwhile. His skin stopped burning after a while, his body was beginning to adapt to the heat and he already felt cooler. Returning to the bag he found another bunch of useless items: Clothes, pencils and a torn piece of paper that had "TRUST THE SOLDIER" written on it in thick, sharp handwriting. Finally, to his disappointment, he unearthed a small rock that must have fallen in through one of the holes. After tossing it away he began to repack the rest except the note, placing that in his pocket. Then the icy wave returned, worse this time. Much worse. The Boy froze as he realized the heat couldn't have just disappeared that quickly on its own.

It had disappeared because of the shadow.

 _Shadow_

He didn't dare turn around and found himself hushing even his own thoughts; _how long has it been watching me?_ For what seemed like hours passed by but the shadow did not move. _Should I run? Fight? Give in? Where would I run? How would I fight? Am I going to die?_

It was not the last time he would wonder that and in truth he had no idea what was going to happen. _What if it catches me?_ Feeling his pulse intensify he readied himself to sprint. Inching his fingers forward he took hold of his bag, still refusing to look back. _Am I going to die?_ He held his breath…

 _Three…_

 _Two….._

 _One…_

Bolting forward he shot to his feet in an explosion of dust and heat. He threw the rucksack over his back and forced his arms forwards as his feet pounded hard against the scorched Earth. He had never moved so fast, suddenly feeling confident he looked back and to his delight the shadow-figure hadn't moved. Doubting his luck he gazed back again, for longer this time, but even in the empty flat world, his weakened legs struggled to cope with even the smallest of obstacles. Before he knew it, his foot caught a larger stone and the floor came rushing up to meet him.

For a moment the world stopped turning, he smacked the ground headfirst and toppled over as his body caught up. His legs smashed into the ground but he was in too much shock to feel any sort of pain. Then the world started turning again, turning too fast and spinning out of control right in front of his eyes. With the desert whirling around him he stood up and quickly fell and stood up and fell again.

"Give in _"._ He decided, closing his eyes.

 _Guardian_

When he awoke the shadow was looming over him once more. Except it wasn't a shadow anymore, it was a man. A small man wrapped in large, dust-covered garments. An old keffiyeh covered his mouth and a pair of silver glasses sheltered what was left of his face. He was short but wide; an odd shape under the garments and looked like he was wearing some kind of armor. But his hair… The Boy stared at this ridiculous, wild hair that spiked out from underneath his hood. Catching his gaze the man pulled his hood down to cover it and they stared into each other's eyes. The Boy felt strange, he wasn't afraid anymore but couldn't understand why.

He was just as clueless about this man as everything else, he had so many questions but all he could do was stutter and wretch. The world had stopped spinning but his stomach hadn't.

The man's face began to twitch as his cheeks rose.

"We're saved!" He exclaimed suddenly "Thank heavens, we're saved! I've found you, it's you, I can't believe it's actually you! You've been gone so long! Where did you go? Oh that doesn't matter. HA!" There was a long silence as he stared at the Boy's blank expression. "Oh no. Please no."

"Wh, what?" Finally came out of the Boy's mouth.

"What can you remember?" Said the Man, in a much more stubborn tone this time.

"Nothing." Said the Boy and the Man's face slumped.

"Can you even duel?" He said softly with what looked like tears beginning to trickle out from his glasses.

"Duel? You mean, like a fight?"

"No. I…it doesn't matter." His voice was soft anyway but now it had gone very quiet, making it hard to understand. "You can't be him, the person I knew would never forget how to duel."

"Who are you looking for?"

"Jaden."

"Wh.."

"Doesn't matter. Lets get you to the Hold."

"What's the Hold?" asked the Boy

"You'll find out." He muttered, sounding more delusional with each word he spoke. This only spouted more and more questions.

"Where am I?" Said the Boy as they started walking.

"Area D113…" He began, but stopped as he met another blank expression. "Oh sorry. You're in the Alternate World, the duelist's world." The Boy tried to look him in the eye but the Man just kept staring at the floor. "We were transported here completely out of the blue one Tuesday morning. Was it a Tuesday? No Wednesday. Wait – Monday! Yes Monday, definitely Monday, nobody likes Mondays - and we're still just as ignorant about it all now as we were twenty odd years ago."

"You've been here twenty years?" The Boy said in surprise. "Are you on your own? Are there any more people here? Who did you think I was?" He was speaking so fast it seemed to annoy the Man but it was hard to draw any sort of emotion from his covered face.

"Yes, Yes, Yes. Doesn't matter." Spurted the Man.

"What?"

"I answered your questions. Yes I have been here twenty years. Yes I am alone. Yes there are more people. And it DOESN'T MATTER!" The Man's breathing deepened and he stopped to look at the Boy, face beginning to wrinkle. "Sorry," He began softly, "I've been searching for a missing boy for almost 15 years with no luck, until last night. I didn't know whether I was dreaming, or dying, but I saw something, a monster, a spirit maybe, in the shape of a woman. She told me to come here, the exact the spot where I found you. You look like him. But you're not."

The Boy cut him off "Woah slow down, do you know how crazy you sound? Who am I supposed to be? He realized he was beginning to shout and, apologetically, tried to lower his voice. "Have you seen me before?"

"I've seen Jaden before, but not you, Jaden would never forget how to duel. It all started when we were finally about to leave but we were ambushed and separated in the fight, Jaden disappeared, I have been searching for him ever since. The Boy was speechless. More questions. They continued to walk but the Boy didn't pay any attention to where they were going, his mind was blocked by mystery and doubt.

"Do you know my name? What about these?" Said the boy and showed him the machine and note. The man snatched the instrument from him but only smirked and replied with:

"Broken."

He took a longer look at the note but simply returned it with a small shrug of his shoulders. "I suppose you can call yourself whatever you want."

After thinking about this for a moment the Boy could only find one name that felt right.

"Jaden." The man snorted at the sound.

"HA! Here, take this then. If you're going to pretend to be him then you might as well look the part." He handed him a small plastic card with a picture on it labeled 'Pot of Greed' but before he could answer the ground began to shake.

The Man went silent.  
"Don't move." He said, turning his head and squinting into the distance. "They're coming. Run, Jaden."

 _Monsters_

"Where are we going!?" Shouted Jaden as they ran. A strong howling wind had come out of nowhere. The Man looked at him and his face wriggled under the mask but Jaden couldn't hear a thing. "WHAT?" He shouted leaning in closer but the only reply he got was a roaring of muffled yells and a flailing of arms from the shadow-man. He seemed to be pointing towards something in the distance. "Hey! HEY! Old man! Guy! What do we do?" The shadow-man stopped immediately, seized Jaden's shoulder and pressed him against his face.

"Tell them I've got this one, HA!"

"Tell who?"

"The Hold!" Its there, just trust me." Jaden didn't trust him at all; this man was crazy! He spoke in riddles, imagined people and there was no proof of anything that he had said so far. But what other choice was there? "JADEN! Go, the army is coming."

"What about you?" Cried Jaden

"Don't worry about me. I told you, I got this one." The shaking ground felt like an earthquake now. He was right - something _was_ coming, something big.

Jaden scampered onward as his muscles began to scream again, there was nothing ahead but more desert so he did the only thing he could – run. He ran, leaving a nothing but a feeble old man between himself and an army.

A faint "HA" came from behind, followed by a flash of blinding light that almost knocked Jaden over in shock. He glanced back, still running, just in time to see the silhouette of a huge creature burst into existence right where the crazy Man had been standing. It emerged with a painful noise that made him shudder, it squealed like a dying hawk but with the ferocity of an explosion. Jaden stopped with disbelief. But he couldn't stop. But he did. The monster moaned and fell to the floor with a mighty crack and just like that, the earthquake vanished.

Jaden couldn't begin to think, let alone move. In seconds his newly found world had transformed in front of his eyes. _What is this place?_ _Monsters? Armies? What happed to the shadow-man? What 'Hold'?_

Quite calmly he set his bag down, bent over and then squawked as he spewed a mixture of water, air and blood all over the floor before letting his body collapse to the ground once more, narrowly missing the puddle of vomit. The world was crazy.

 _Questions_

He awoke, retching and spluttering as he struggled for breath. But this time it came in easy, Jaden sat up in confusion. His body had stopped moaning and he almost felt comfortable. The desert had vanished, replaced by a small room with a dim light bulb hanging from the ceiling and a polite humming from a crooked fan on the table next to his bed. There was a stronger light trying to sneak its way under the dark door at the end of the room. Looking at the door Jaden suddenly felt very queasy, behind it laid yet another mystery with more questions. There could be anything behind that door. He had to open it, except he didn't have to at all. It swung out quite softly, making Jaden squint as the light flooded in.

"Hey, what's happening?" Said a quiet voice with a stubborn tone. Jaden rubbed his eyes, still blinded by the light. "Hey. Concentrate, tell me what's happening."

"There's…" Replied Jaden quietly; it all felt like a dream until it came rushing back to him. Not a dream, a nightmare. "THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE, AN ARMY, A… SOMETHING COMING!" The voice turned away quickly.

"Sound the alarm! Now! They've found us again." It said walking out the room.

"Wait!" Shouted Jaden, "There was somebody else outside, and he said he's got this one!". The figure halted.

"Well then…" It said, Jaden's eyes had adjusted and now he could see the man standing before him. "We missed one hell of a show."

 _Answers_

"Who are you?" Asked Jaden

"I could ask you the same thing." Replied the new man.

"I don't know, I woke up in a desert and can't remember anything. All I had was a bag and then this crazy man appeared and he said you've been transported here or something, then the army was coming and we ran and then I woke up here. Where am I?" He only stopped because he found himself panting for breath again.

"Okay." Said the man. His voice was very raspy, as if he had just been shouting. Jaden studied his face; it was quite thin with small wrinkle marks around his mouth and eyes. He had a small, pointy chin and long, thick black hair. His eyes were an unusual dark purplish color, being towered over by long, serious eyebrows. "This may be hard to hear but I'll try to catch you up. The man you met was not as crazy as you think. Twenty years ago about half of the population of Earth was transported to this wasteland all at once and we have no idea how or why. At first it all seemed completely random but then we realized that everyone who was brought here was a duelist."

"Duelist!" Jaden suddenly burst out. "The he said something about

a duel."

"Yes, back in the real world everyone here played a game called Duel Monsters. It started as a card game and erupted all over the world, became a real sport – something anyone could play and enjoy. Then about 30 years ago, a boy named Yugi Mutou became a legend of the game and unlocked many secrets about it's past; some claim he fought to save the world just by dueling against fierce enemies. We thought a man named Maximillion Pegasus invented the game but he only modernized it, it was actually based off an ancient Egyptian ritual with magical monsters. That magic still shrouds the game today and it seems to be that same magic that caused all this."

"Who was the Man?" Said Jaden after a while, struggling to comprehend it all.

"Ha. Now that's a question. That man you met is our Guardian, a shadow in the night. Nobody knows who he is or what he's doing but he's one of the strongest duelists that ever lived, I watched him single handedly take down an entire army of monsters once."

"Who… What are these armies?" The story was getting harder to believe.

"Slow down, I'll explain everything." Said the man with a slight chuckle "Come through here, I want to show you something."

Jaden walked though the door onto a narrow corridor with a large window, he gazed out to see a horrible mess of land scattered with people all huddling under tents made of old clothes, propped up with sticks or anything else they could find in an attempt to escape the heat. At one end there was a puddle of brown mud, with more people slumped around filling up bottles and washing clothes. The sight was overwhelming and Jaden couldn't help but feel sick at the scene. It stretched out for miles on end, thousands of helpless people left alone in the desert.

"It's bad isn't it" Said the Man. "This is the Hold. One of the few strongholds of duelists left, we guess there are about ten places like this scattered throughout the world all just as crowded as this one and definitely none that we can communicate with." He seemed to struggle to accept the situation and refused to look out the window for long. Jaden however, couldn't turn his eyes away; he just stood silent trying not to interrupt him again.

"You see, when we appeared here chaos quickly broke out; everyone panicked and turned on each other. We didn't understand this world and the panic only made things worse; people started dueling their way to power. The magic is stronger here, when you summon a monster in the 'game' back home it was just a hologram, harmless in the real world but here the monsters became frighteningly real. More importantly, they stick around afterward." This news startled Jaden. _Could the huge machine that appeared before be one of these monsters?_ He wondered, remembering how fierce it was. "Ha, you've gone a little pale" Chuckled the Man.

"I saw one, I saw your Guardian fight. Well, sort of, he transformed into this huge screeching thing."

"Yeah, the one thing we know about him is that he uses a lot of machine type monsters, he didn't transform though – he summoned. Some of his monsters have phenomenal strength and the others have special abilities that make them close to invincible." Replied the man. When he talked about these things his voice changed, he had a real passion for their power.

"You said that everyone here is a duelist?" Asked Jaden

"Yes, or at least they used to be." Replied the Man

"Does that mean I am too? Can _I_ summon these monsters?" Jaden's question was met with a long silence. The Man looked at Jaden, his face suddenly very serious.

"Walk with me."

 _Duel_

The Man marched quickly down the corridor, Jaden hurried after him, finding some new strength in his legs. The Man looked in his thirties and oddly taller when he walked. He wore a tight black top and ragged pants that snagged on his shoes with every step.

"Have you seen the Guardian before, you said he saved you?" Asked Jaden.

"The first time we saw him was when we needed him most, the armies have been searching for any sign of human life in order to eradicate it. I've fought countless battles against those who somehow managed to find us. But one day a team of creatures attacked the Hold that was far too string for me to battle alone, that's when he showed up and destroyed them in a matter of seconds."

They had walked for a while now, turning down many corridors, past countless doors. It all looked the same to Jaden but the Man seemed to know where he was going.

"He told me he was looking for someone called Jaden, apparently I look like him in someway, but then he brought me here." Jaden smirked at himself as he realized how bizarre all this was.

"Well, that's interesting." Said the Man, scratching his head. "I'm sorry but I don't have a clue what any of that means, all I know is he wanders around the desert lands alone, I suppose it makes some sense that he would be searching for something, or someone." He talked about the shadow-man in the same way he talked about the game; it was like it sparked an old fire from deep within his heart.

"So you have no idea who this Jaden is? Who _I_ am?" He said bleakly.

"I'm afraid not."

Jaden sighed, "Where are we going?"

"To find out if you can duel." Smiled the Man, they were approaching a large door at the end of the corridor.

"I told you I can't, I don't know anything about it." Said Jaden quickly, suddenly feeling a lot of pressure.

"That doesn't mean anything, dueling comes from the heart. It's always been more than just a game." He stopped as they reached the door. "I'm going to teach you how to play, when we found you, you had a bag. In your bag was a duel disk; this is what we use to play. It's one of the few remaining now. Remember when I told you about the violence that broke out? Well dueling gangs began to form and they started turf wars, fighting against each other just for more power and land. Then the leaders got scared and started to break other duel disks so no one could even attempt to fight back. Like I said before, when you win in this world your duel disk stays active, so they used their monsters to destroy everything they could." His eyes had gone red, as if he was trying not to cry.

"So the armies are these duel gangs?" Replied Jaden, trying to distract him from his emotions.

"No, the worst part is the gangs lost control of their monsters. They broke away and demolished everything in their path. They grew in strength and now they are hunting for the rest of us humans. We cannot fight. All we can do is run and hide." Before Jaden could respond, the Man opened the door to reveal a large room without a roof; it was scorched by the heat and empty apart from one small object at the far end.

Jaden jumped out of his skin as a loud noise suddenly filled the room, he turned back to find he was alone.

"This is a dueling computer!" Boomed a voice from the walls, He now saw the Man standing on a platform on the right hand side of the room speaking into a microphone. "See that small object over there, go have a look." Jaden walked over to see the strange Thing he found when he first woke up. The voice rumbled once more, "Put it on!"

This disk was just about the only thing that felt familiar to Jaden, in this new world it was all he had, to see it again filled him with a sense of relief. Though there was something different about it this time, the round part at the bottom had opened up and there was a small buzzing noise coming from the inside. It felt alive. Jaden examined it for a while before carefully placing it over his left arm. All at once the clip snapped shut around him and burst into life, a fabulous array of colors filled the room and the old connect button started flashing bright red. Jaden suddenly felt very excited, his heart rate increased and he felt stronger, but he was not sure what was about to happen. Then the wall in front of him lit up as well and a second voice came out of nowhere.

"Dueling mode engaged," Said a soft yet robotic, female voice. "Tutorial mode. Set. Choose your deck." The screen offered a wide selection of monsters, there were dragons, wizards, creatures and animals of all kinds, just about anything you could imagine.

"These are the cards you can play with!" Shouted the Man "Go with your instinct!" It was all rather overwhelming but eventually Jaden settled on a machine type deck since he already knew they were strong, after he was done choosing, the cards appeared in one of the slots. Next the connect button turned blue and Jaden slammed it hard. He watched as the disk transformed itself again, the triangular edges shot forward to produce five separate squares and slots. "It's time to duel! The computer always goes first, just watch."

The screen changed again. "Computer move. One. Basic summon. Level four or below. Summon Baby Dragon. Turn End." Jaden watched as the floor lit up and a small, twisted creature appeared with a squeal.

"The way this works, Jaden, is you just have to try and copy each move it does, the computer will show you every play strategy but after that it's up to you! Good luck!" Exclaimed the Man, quite abruptly.

Strangely enough Jaden felt quite relaxed, he looked at his screen, which now read 'DRAW 5' so he did and, trusting his instincts, drew a sixth to start his turn. After everything he had experienced he still had no clue as to where he was, what he was supposed to do or what was really going on. It was all completely alien, like a dream he couldn't wake up from. Until now. As he drew the cards he felt at home, he felt powerful and strong and knew exactly what to do.

"I summon X-Head Cannon to the field!" He shouted, slamming the card onto a slot and smiling to himself as it appeared in the same way as the dragon did.

Turn after turn went by and Jaden enjoyed himself more and more as the game went on, the computer produced move after move using spell cards, magic, traps and all kinds of special abilities but he followed each of them with ease.

"What did I tell you?" Shouted the Man, Jaden had almost forgotten he was there. "Dueling comes from the heart. Now it's time to put your skills to the test, you're going against me." The computer shut down and the room went dark, Jaden juddered as the anxiety returned but he still felt weirdly confident.

"I still don't know your name!" He shouted at the darkness.

"I had a name once." Came a whisper from the distance. "People round here just call me Player."

"Well then, game on Player!" Smirked Jaden, he sensed there was more to that than he let on but right now all he wanted to do was duel.

"I'll start." Said Player abruptly. He didn't use a duel disk, instead he stood behind a transparent screen; tapping away at thin air as he selected his deck and drew. "I place a monster in defense mode and two more cards face down, your go." Jaden felt quite underwhelmed and decided to put him under some pressure.

"I play Mechanicalchaser and attack your face down monster." The card shot forward plunging one of its knives right through Player's card. Mechanicalchaser was far stronger and its foe was torn apart.

"Bad mistake, Jaden" Said Player. "I activate Masked Dragon's special ability, when it is sent to the graveyard I can summon one dragon type monster to my field and I choose Armed Dragon Level 3!" Jaden shuddered at the tone of his voice but watched as a small yellow dragon appeared on the field.

"Pfft, why have you played it in attack mode? My monster is still far stronger!" Laughed Jaden but Player said nothing. "I play one card face down to end my turn."

Player felt himself getting frustrated with Jaden; he thought he knew it all after one game against a computer. He was careless and rushed through his moves.

"Never underestimate anything." Player said seriously as he drew his next card. "I activate my Dragon's special ability, during my standby phase he gets stronger – come forth, Armed Dragon Level 5!" This card _was_ greater than Jaden's. "That's not all, now I activate Level Up!" His voice was getting louder, now an even fiercer dragon stood towering over Jaden. Without hesitating Player carried on - "Next I activate Call of the Haunted to bring back my Lv 5 Dragon." This was one of the facedown cards from earlier. He had planned everything right from the start.

Jaden winced; jaw dropping as the two huge dragons glared at him. They had powerful green eyes, shadowy red skin and were covered by gleaming silver armor; it looked like it could cut through anything. However this was not the worst thing, Player still had a face down card. _Is there more to this plan?_ Thought Jaden. _Is it a back up? A trap?_ He felt unusually edgy; Player was in a different league, one step ahead.

"Lv 5, destroy his monster!" The creature roared and pounced forward, Jaden's machine suddenly didn't seem so fierce. His field became empty and his life points dropped to 3450. "NOW ARMED DRAGON LEVEL 7!" Roared Player. Jaden covered his face as the dragon prepared to attack. Its skin lit up bright red and smoke began to bubble out of its mouth. Leaning forwards, the monster snarled at him, he could feel the heat scorching his skin - the danger had suddenly become horribly real. He glanced at player who stood opposite him cold and unmoving. _Am I going to die?_ But the dragon did not move.

"Get a grip Jaden!" Player finally exclaimed. "This is no longer a game, and you can't treat it as one. If you are hit by a direct attack you could be killed." Jaden's breaths turned to wheezes, Player was right. "I believe you lost your memory due to something like this, it's not just attacks but all kinds of spells, traps and abilities that will affect you too. If you make a mistake it's crucial, you have to be able to survive a duel as well as just protecting your life points."

"I. I can't do this." Jaden looked at the floor, he wasn't having fun anymore, and instead he was just scared. Player said nothing, only sighed with disappointment.

A long while passed, both of them were unsure what to say. Jaden couldn't think of anything he could do to fight off the dragons and it was still Player's turn.

"I am the last duelist left at the Hold." Said Player. "I protect everyone here against the armies on my own, we have our Guardian but we can't rely on him all the time. Do you think I can afford to be scared? I have people who rely on me to keep them safe! You could help me, together we might be able to last much longer but first I have to know I can trust you to up your game and not give up like a coward."

"Why can't someone else do it? Give them my duel disk, someone you _can_ trust!"

"Don't be an idiot, the duel disk recognizes DNA so it will only work with you." Jaden started to get angry, fighting back tears he shouted back,

"How could I know that? I don't even know who I am!"

"You're a _duelist_ , Jaden! Now duel me! I end my turn but I'm not going easy any more, after my Lv 5 dragon destroys a monster I can sacrifice it to call out another Dragon Level 7!"

Jaden was getting angrier, he now had two identical monsters to face. He drew his next card hard and oddly enough found himself on the attack once more.

"I play Yellow Gadget in attack mode!" This was a strange machine sheltered by gears and used a single camera lens as an eye. "When this card is played I can add one Green Gadget to my hand and now I activate my facedown card – Ultimate Offering!" Player's eyes lit up, he knew what was coming.

"That's more like it." He smiled.

"By sacrificing just 500 life points I can summon another monster this turn. Go Green Gadget!" With a loud creaking noise, the device appeared next to its yellow sibling "One more time and I can bring out my Red Gadget!"

"That's quite a defense you have there." Said Player looking at the three strange relatives crowding in front of Jaden.

"Hold on." Said Jaden, he still hadn't forgiven Player for calling him a coward. "Finally I sacrifice my red and yellow gadgets to bring out my most powerful creature, Ancient Gear Gadjilton Dragon!" The room shook and even Player's dragon twins flinched as the huge mechanism exploded onto the field with a brutal cry of metallic prowess. The creature looked old and rusted, it groaned as it moved and was so large its wings pressed against the walls of the hall. Jaden's life points had taken a nasty bite down to 1950 whilst Player's stayed strong at 4000.

"Now attack with ancient gear surge!" The monstrous contraption creaked its head to the side letting out a ball of energy that tore through the immaculate armor - they both watched as the first dragon collapsed to the ground. "Oh, did I mention, because I used both yellow and red gadget to summon my machine you take an extra 1000 points of damage!"

Player choked as the blast hit him and his points tumbled to 2800. Jaden found himself gasping; he was putting everything into this duel, and was starting to enjoy it again. All he wanted was for Player to fight back.

"I end my turn." Said Jaden with a smirk.

"Hmpf. Not bad Jaden, not bad at all." Said Player as he picked himself up, Jaden was far better than he'd first anticipated and after drawing his next card he realized that stalling was his only option. "I set one monster, switch my Dragon to defense mode and play one more card facedown. That's all for now."

His move startled Jaden; the dragon didn't bother him anymore, but the two-facedown cards were very unsettling. Cautiously, Jaden commanded his Dragon to destroy Player's and, to his surprise, the attack succeeded but he couldn't risk his gadget being weaker than the hidden creature.

"Go trap card!" Announced Player, sending a shiver through Jaden's spine. "The Grave of Enkindling allows us both to choose one monster in our graveyards and summon them to the field, the only downside however, is they have to stay in defense mode." Jaden breathed a sigh of relief, hoping his opponent wouldn't notice.

"I guess I choose my Yellow Gadget."

"And I bring back Armed Dragon Level 7!"

The field was getting quite crowded. Player's plan was working; he sensed Jaden's doubt. The way he moved reminded Player of an old friend, except he was far less confident, despite all efforts to prove otherwise. Jaden finished by setting a monster and a trap card of his own.

"Smart move." Said Player mockingly; the card that followed was exactly what he needed. "First of all…" Player outstretched his hand and a card flipped to reveal a beautiful angel, who looked strangely familiar to Jaden. "Don't you recognize her? _She_ found you in the desert; you had a horrible fever and wouldn't stop shivering. It took her a whole day to cure you."

"Oh." Said Jaden. He briefly recalled passing out before waking up in the room. "Thanks, I guess." The angel shied away from his stare and turned towards Player.

"But she's on my side this time so I now gain 300 life points for every monster on the field - bringing them shooting back up to 4600!" The gauge on the screen turned bright blue, he was way ahead now. "It's time to end this." Said Player

"I sacrifice my Level 7 Dragon to bring out _my_ most powerful monster! Reveal yourself, Armed Dragon Level TEN!"

 _Spells_

True to his word, the colossal creature made all the others look pathetic. Jaden lay on his back; he caught the sound of screaming coming from outside, even they had heard the roar.

His Ancient Gear Gadjilton Dragon was gone; it stood no chance. All that remained on his side of the field was a facedown Ancient Gear Soldier and trap card. But Player still had both attacks left, one, which came from the Flying Kamakiri that he'd set before. Jaden didn't even look up as the bug dissolved his soldier with some horrid green ooze. Fortunately his life points escaped unscathed but he was left completely defenseless.

"You did well, but you're no match for me. Don't worry; I didn't use my duel disk because the computer won't really hurt you. Armed Dragon, finish him!" Jaden grinned as the dragon prepared its final blast; he'd been playing a few tricks of his own and waited until the last possible second to activate his card.

"Take him down, Sakurestu Armor!" The trap card sprung into life just in time and attached to Jaden's body. Player couldn't hear what had happened over the noise of the attack.

"Hahahaha!" Laughed Player wickedly as the smoke began to clear. "Wait..." It was like being kicked in the stomach as he watched his dragon shatter into pieces. All that was left, still wearing the armor, was a very satisfied looking Jaden standing at the other end of the room.

For a moment, there was only silence, until Player simply sighed.

"Make your move." And the duel returned to Jaden.

His field was empty. He didn't have a monster to summon or any cards to uphold another slaughter. It all came down to the draw. One draw, one card, one result.

"I call on the magic of Ancient Gear Factory!" He cried. "By removing from play both my Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon and Soldier, I can summon a monster whose level equals half their combined total!" This was the one spell that could help him win; as he picked it up he felt a deep connection with his cards. This was not a game, or a fight nor a test. Dueling was part of his very soul - what he was born to do.

The two banished cards arose on the field and their ghostly remains were pulled into a swirling vortex created by the magic card, it then warped into a new monster, Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera!

The scowling creature made Player flinch, it was powerful but he knew his life points still lent him a huge advantage… So why was his heart still racing?

Jaden continued; "Now I activate Limiter Removal, which doubles my machine's attack points!" There was a loud cranking noise and his creature doubled in size, laced with an ominous purple glow. It didn't resemble anything Player had ever seen before, the twisted mess looked unstoppable.

"Not only that, I equip it with Ancient Gear Tank for an extra 600 points!"

"Jaden, wait." Said Player but he was completely immersed in his move.

"Attack, Chimera!" He screamed "Destroy his bug, now!" Jaden had forgotten the duel disk made _his_ creatures real - Player was now in serious danger.

"AGHHH!" Squealed Player, almost as loudly as the noise from the bug as it was squashed between Chimera's claws. 800 Life points stood between Jaden and victory. Player scrambled to his feet:

"Jaden, we have to stop now!"

But there was a fire in his eyes; he wasn't falling for any more tricks.  
"I have one last card, Player!" Chimera began to rumble.

"I activate…"

"JADEN!"

"Ancient Gear Explosive!"

"I SURRENDER!" Bellowed Player as the monster detonated.

 _Magic_

"My God." Moaned Player as he picked himself up off the floor. Again.

"I'm sorry!" Shouted Jaden, sprinting across the room. "I'm so sorry I didn't mean t…"

"Ha! Don't worry about it!" Smirked Player

"You could have been killed!"

"Killed? Jaden I've never felt so alive."

Both Jaden and Player were panting hard, Jaden felt exhausted but in a strangely different way to before, it was like the strength had gone from his very spirit. He knew Player felt it too. Player had managed to stop the match just before the blast did some real harm.

"I'd like to introduce you to your duel energy" sighed Player as he took a deep breath and stretched. "Every duelist has it, some more than others, it's that feeling you get at the start of the duel, what drives your instinct throughout the game and ultimately reflects your love and passion for dueling."

Jaden laughed loudly and sat down on the floor, still panting. "So why does it hurt so much?"

"In this world it has much more of an effect, its directly linked to your _normal_ energy and affects your concentration when playing. If you let yourself become disheartened it's a one way ticket to loserville." Jaden just smiled and lay back, staring at the stars; he hadn't even noticed it had gone dark outside. "One more thing, the dueling energy played a huge part in bringing us here, we think its why only duelists were transported and I'm sure you've noticed the building your in."

Jaden sat bolt upright, he had forgotten about the thousands of people outside. "Yes, what is this place? Why is there no-one else inside?"

"This place was once my home. Some people carried enough dueling energy to transport the things around them here too, mostly only small things like pens and.."

"And you were able to transport all of this!" Jaden's eyes widened, suddenly realizing how big this room alone was. "How much dueling energy do you have? Who are you, Player?" Player's eyes turned to meet the ground. What he said next was in a deep, thick tone.

"I'm a monster."

The very room seemed to darken, it frightened Jaden and he began to stand up slowly.

"You don't need to be afraid" Said Player calmly. "I'm just a monster to those I protect."

"What are you talking about?" Said Jaden very seriously.

" _I_ was the leader of the toughest dueling gang, it was my idea to smash the duel disks. I'm the reason these people are helpless. They're forced to stay close in order to survive, but they wont come any nearer than they have too, hence why they're all outside."

Jaden did not reply; feeling betrayed he began to walk out in some form of protest although he had no idea where to go.

"Wait!" Said player, a little louder, but Jaden kept on walking. "You need to go to the Kaiba tower."

That hit Jaden hard.

It was like all the air in his lungs tried to escape at once, all of a sudden the room transformed and he saw the Guardian right in front of his eyes. He was shouting at him, something about a tower – the Kaiba tower! There was fire scattered all around him and explosion after explosion as the walls of the building collapsed everywhere. Jaden stood there – useless - as the Guardian screamed at him. He could see him clearly now, furious green eyes sat on a ghostly grey face as he bellowed and waved at Jaden…

And then there was nothing.

"You're beginning to remember." Said Player from behind.

"It was the Guardian, he was there, he was..." Jaden abruptly recalled how furious he was with Player and stopped.

"Jaden, I don't expect you to like me, but please let me help you. I think you're the key to our way out of this world." Jaden wanted nothing more than to turn around and never see or speak to him again. He was a liar, a cheat and a coward but he couldn't. Player was all he really had."

"Where is the tower?" Said Jaden, unable to look him in the eye.

"I've used some of the spare energy we had to send a message to them, the rest went on powering your duel disk - they will be here to pick you up in an hour."

"I thought you said there was no communication? What else haven't you told me?"

"I'm sorry, we keep things secret for a reason."

Jaden's face screwed up, he was getting more and more agitated. "Who's ' _we'?_ I heard you talking to someone when I woke up here - you're lying. Stop making excuses and tell me what I need to know."

Player's face did not change. "There are a few very skilled duelists left, they live in the Kiaba tower. There was a plan, I know nothing about it but I think you are important. So much so that the energy I just used has been building up for 15 years and it's all just gone on you."

"What about the people outside?" Asked Jaden.

"With the power out we will probably be found within a month, that's if we don't die of starvation first." Player said that as if it was all completely normal, it annoyed Jaden even more.

"You idiot!" He screamed, straining his voice. "How could you even consider that? Do you know how many people you've sent to their deaths? You claim to be their protector!"

"I claim to be nothing!" He replied angrily. "Don't you think I've tried everything I could? You're our last hope, you have to fix this." Jaden was overloaded with emotion and felt sick once again.

"I…I can't." He stuttered much more quietly.

"Of course you can." Player put two hands on Jaden's shoulders and they looked at each other face to face. "You're an unbelievable duelist," He began much more softly "you could help us win this war. I don't know who you are, or what you're supposed to do but I know you can do it." He was smiling but his eyes were brimming with tears, it made them look larger than normal and Jaden could see the sorrow Player carried inside. He felt his own eyes begin to water but ignored it and reached into his pocket, pulling out the card he found earlier.

"All I have is this." He sighed, handing it to Player trying not to let his hand shake. The other cards in his deck vanished after the computer shut down.

"You're joking." Gawped Player - his eyes widened tremendously.

"What?" Said Jaden, a little confused.

"This card is called Pot of Greed, it's a very powerful spell that used to be very common. Any duelist worth their salt would have it stored in their decks but it was outlawed for being too powerful and became a rarity back home." Before Jaden could reply, Player sprang away and half walked, half jogged his way to the microphone stand before returning with a duel disk on his wrist. "Please work. Oh please work." He muttered to himself holding the card in his hand. He seemed to stand there a long time, completely silent and still. Then swiftly he spun around towards Jaden and called loudly. "I activate the magic of Pot of Greed!" Another long moment passed before the whole room was lit up a sickly-sweet green color and a huge jar emerged with a large smirking face across its front. Player grinned, threw his arms out wide and roared "Pot of Greed, give me food!" The pot's eyes rolled forward to glare at him and then boomed deeply:  
"HA. HA. HA. HA. HA HAA." All of a sudden the room was littered with tables of spectacular food of all kinds, from steaming hot dumplings to greasy steaks covered with chips and sauce.

The sight was so remarkable both Jaden and Player's faces lit up as they watched tables continue to pop up out of nowhere.

"Look outside, quickly!" Laughed Player ecstatically and burst out the room through the large door again. Jaden followed and this time they darted through some glass doors onto a crooked balcony and gazed at the excited yet baffled people all cheering as the magic poured out around them transforming into table after table of perfectly cooked food.

 _Kaiba_

Jaden and Player sat opposite each other in the long corridor surrounded by empty plates and even more full ones. They had not stopped eating for almost two hours. In the distance they could still here the people cheering, laughing and even singing.

"They haven't eaten like this in years." Said Player eventually.

"It's like they've been brought back from the dead." Muttered Jaden with a mouthful of rice.

"Maybe if they knew about you, how I helped you, do you think they could forgive me?"

Jaden swallowed and looked at Player whose head was once again pointing at the floor.

"…Maybe." Whispered Jaden quietly.

"Or maybe not."

"When was the last time you went outside? Except to duel."

"I don't remember." Said Player shaking his head. "It's been too long."

"You can't just hide from your shame, the only way you'll ever get them to forgive you is if you go outside and show them you care. But more importantly, you have to forgive yourself first." Jaden stopped talking as he realized Player wasn't listening at all, instead he was staring down the hall at the person that had just walked in.

"THEY'RE OVER HERE!" Exclaimed a great being walking towards them. "OH MY IT'S GOOD TO SEE YA. WE'VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER THE BUILDING". He didn't shout but spoke very loudly and quickly and kept knocking over bits of food as he waddled uncontrollably down the hall. "I'm Darren and this is Oskar. We're here to getcha to the tower." Jaden didn't understand a word and rushed to his feet as it continued to trudge towards them.

"Forgive him!" Came a second high-pitched voice from behind. "He's extremely…. well… Scottish." As he said that Darren's smile turned quickly into a frown and he turned side on to reveal the source of the second voice.

"What d'ya mean, _extremely Scottish_!" Said Darren in a mimicking voice.

"Oh be quiet for a moment, we have company. As he was saying, I'm Oskar and this is Darren. We've come from the Kaiba tower." Oskar was far shorter than Darren and thinner too; he spoke with a more refined accent that was smooth and calming.

"You got my message." Said Player.

"Yes, thank you." Replied Oskar, they were ignoring Player; all the attention was on Jaden. He guessed they knew who Player was and what he had done.

"Who are you?" Asked Jaden

"We're part of the elite team." Replied Oskar. "There are ten of us in total, including you, of course." Jaden looked confused.

"I can't remember anything, I woke up in the desert and ended up here." He told Oskar.

"Yes, clearly, we were afraid of that. There will be time to explain everything later, but for now, we have to go."

"I imagine you've got a Pot of Greed card somewhere round here!" Exclaimed Darren gawping at the food. "You'd better grab that first for… for research." He had a serious tone but it didn't distract Jaden from the drooling coming from the corner of his mouth.

"No," Said Jaden, he turned to player. "You keep it."

"I'll walk you out." He replied thankfully.

All three of them followed Player down a large circular flight of stairs towards the front door. Jaden carried his bag in one arm and still had his duel disk strapped to the other, carefully maneuvering it over the bannister.

Darren lumbered his way through the building, he also wore a duel disk but it was strapped over the sleeves of an old brown leather jacket. He wasn't fat, just large; two muscular shoulders, barely fitting under his coat, carried his head. He chewed on something constantly and boasted a pair of sporty sunglasses that clutched round the sides of his face. His hair was relatively short, just long enough that he had to brush the fringe away from his brow every so often and accompanied by a thin stubbly beard that covered his mouth and neck. Both were a darker brown than his jacket but his face was tinted red, grazed by the Sun.

As they reached the bottom Player hesitated grabbing the handle, Jaden knew why. He took a deep breath and tugged at the wooden entrance until it opened. The familiar sight of the people met them but they stopped eating, talking and even moving as they saw Player standing in the doorway. For a moment, the Sun seemed to stop glowing as they stared at Player. Some time passed but Darren became impatient and marched through the crowd, Oskar quickly followed.

Jaden couldn't think of anything to say but luckily he didn't have to. Player walked straight back into the house and closed the door - that was the last time he ever saw him. Now the crowd focused on him, silent and unmoving like a plague of zombies. Jaden tried not to look; he put his bag over his shoulders and walked forwards, head down, through the mob. His pace quickened as he felt the people starting to shuffle at his sides. Then suddenly, a young girl reached out and grabbed his duel disk! He yanked it away and lunged to the side but she looked equally as terrified.

"Good luck." She said with a faint smile.

Then came a familiar voice, "Over here!" Said Oskar. Both of them were stood alongside two long contraptions that looked like bikes. Darren held out a deck of cards for Jaden.

"Take these." He said, "It's not your old deck but hopefully they'll do the job for now." Jaden didn't get time to read through them, he just placed them into his disk and Oskar helped him onto the back of Darren's bike, the only one that could carry two people. The crowd of people lay just behind them, watching their every move.

Oskar looked quite different from Darren; his hair was of similar length but bright blonde, though it seemed to change in the light. Sometimes brown, sometimes blonde even streaks of auburn could be seen on occasion. He was a fraction the size of his friend but still quite toned; he wore a white polo shirt with a blue lining and a small pocket over the left breast. On the same side he had accumulated several on bands on his wrist, all distinctive shapes and colors. Unlike Darren, he was clean-shaven and quite pale for someone in the desert. His lips stood out over everything, very pink against the rest of his skin. He had large deep blue eyes that flickered side to side as they checked and double-checked his machine.

Darren and Oskar prepared themselves, putting earpieces and helmets on. Darren bounced onto his bike, almost knocking Jaden off whereas Oskar simply glided onto his seat.

"Hold on tight." Said Darren and started the engine, Oskar set off first.

"Testing. Testing. Confirm?" Said Oskar to Darren via the headset.

"Aye." He replied and they left the Hold behind.

It was still visible for some distance down the road then all at once it vanished into thin air. Jaden remembered running in the sandstorm, he couldn't see it then either.

"Darren, where did the Hold go?" he asked, fighting against the howling wind.

"Cloaking device, a damn good one too, all the holdouts that are left have one. You can guess what happened to those that didn't." Jaden didn't want to think about that.

Side by side they raced down the road with nothing but empty desert all around them, Jaden's eyes became very heavy, the smooth rumble of the engine had turned into a weird lullaby but Darren and Oskar remained completely focused so he felt obliged to copy them and did his best to remain awake. After about an hour of driving a small structure appeared in the distance, the two bikes slowed down as they approached it.

Oskar stopped; "Shall we take a moment? I think our precious cargo is feeling rather sleepy." He said nodding towards Jaden whose face was pressed against Darren's back. As Darren climbed off, Jaden awoke with a start and rubbed his eyes.

"Two minutes," Said Darren. "I don't like this place." The whole area was a ruin, the remains of a few small buildings were scattered around, connected by what seemed to resemble a street. There was one larger tower - more intact than the others, Jaden wandered over slowly. The building was just bare brick, the whole left side had been torn away but the middle part stood tall, this was the only one that had two discernable floors. Jaden poked his head through the empty doorway; the door itself lay flat in front of him. Something must have barged its way past. The inside was all badly burnt; the walls were scorched black and in one room lay the charred outline of a human skeleton cast upon the bare wall. It came with a musty stench of cooked flesh. Jaden felt the color rush from his face and the hairs on his arms stood on edge. It sounded like there was a small buzzing noise coming from the upstairs room.

Darren was watching closely, like a child he couldn't let Jaden get too far away. Then he noticed something, maybe something, it flickered in the upper window. He stood up. Jaden was still looking at the scorched mark on the wall, leaning closer; he could see the detail left by the flames, the outline of a face and markings of individual fingers. Then something shifted behind him. He felt the breeze but there was nothing there. Nothing but the house. Darren appeared next, he spoke clearly for once.

"Come on, let's get out of here." But just as they got outside Oskar screamed from the distance.

"ARGH!"

"Oskar!" Cried Darren in his familiar brutal tone. They ran towards the shout and found Oskar kneeling on the floor, his left leg ensnared in a bear trap.

"It's alright, it just startled me." The trap was old and blunt; it had seized him tightly but was unable to tear its way through Oskar's heavy boots. Darren drew a card from his deck.

"This should work, Remove Trap!" He said and the snare fell apart in an instant.

"Thanks." Jaden helped pull him up, Oskar dusted himself off and frowned at the newly formed rip in his pants. As they headed back to the bikes they heard a rustling sound from round the corner. A small, bright orange fox was sniffing around their kit; the tip of its tail glowed red with a strong flame. Oskar's eyes widened, he looked at the others in silence and slowly placed his finger on his lips.

"Oh, its only a wee Fox Fire!" Announced Darren, barging past Oskar.

"Darren, hold on!"

"I summon Sangan, destroy it!"

"No Darren, stop!" But the fox was already destroyed.

"See, nothing to worry about!" Said Darren proudly but the battle had made such a noise that his expression quickly changed. Suddenly the remains of the demolished fox sprung back to life and it shot off, squealing into the distance, Jaden couldn't believe how fast it moved but Oskar was not impressed.

"Brilliant, you forgot about its ability. Get on the bike, now."

Darren and Jaden led the way this time, after a few more hours of driving Oskar pulled out some oddly shaped binoculars, and cursed loudly as he looked behind. Jaden could just make out what looked like dust in the distance; he was confused until he felt a small tremble in the ground. "That bleeding fox has led them right to us, it's a full attack squad, search and destroy party." He said down the microphone.

"Who's leading?" Asked Darren "Can we take 'em?"

"Jinzo at the head, we can't fight an army that big."

"It can't be the army, I saw it destroyed!" Said Jaden.

"That's adorable." Chuckled Darren. "You thought there was just _one_ army?"

"FLORENCE ONE TO KAIBA TOWER - COME IN!" Shouted Darren, frantically tapping at his earpiece. "KAIBA TOWER COME IN, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK. REPEAT. WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" There was no reply except for some nasty static interference.

"It's no use!" Shouted Oskar. "Their Jinzo is blocking the signal!" Jaden looked behind to see the tall alien riding on a wolf creature - they were catching up fast!

"WE HAVE THE PACKAGE AND NEED ASSISTANCE - KAIBA TOWER - COME IN. OVER!" Bellowed Darren; ignoring Oskar.

"Darren, SHUT UP!" Said Oskar, "They could be listening for Gods sake!"

"They're nearly here!" Shouted Jaden.

Oskar turned to see the dust storm getting closer; there was more than just Jinzo noticeable now. A team of beasts and fiends lead the charge and above them loomed all matter of flying monstrosities.

"Step on it Darren, we can lose them through here!" Cried Oskar, though his voice was laced with a hint of panic. They were approaching a narrow passage way formed by high curving rocks, the flat desert suddenly turned into an obstacle course; littered with boulders and sharp turns.

Oscar entered first, twisting and dodging his way effortlessly through the passage. Darren however was far clumsier, scraping the sides of his bike every time he turned a corner.

"Hold tight J!" He muffled, losing his wing-mirror on an edged piece of rock. Jaden did as he was told.

"We're almost through, there's no way they can keep up through here!" Called Oskar.

Then it all went quiet, the sharp landscape became hazy and dark. Jaden suddenly felt very odd and a horrible hissing festered in his left ear.

"The aaaaiiiiiiii" Whispered a thick echoing tone. It felt like it was coming from right inside his head! "THE AAAAIIIIIIIII!" It said again much louder this time but it wasn't affecting the others. Jaden shook his head and closed his eyes, when he opened them he was no longer on the bike but found himself surrounded by and floating in a deep empty space. A gust of shadows slid their way past his ear blowing a cold chill through his body before twisting into a ball in front of him. "EEEYYYYYEEEESSS!" It screeched.

Jaden couldn't move and was forced to stare into the dark sphere, it was round yet twisted and pulsated like a dying heart beat. The longer he looked the more it penetrated his senses; he could see a figure starting to form from the center. It looked like a doll except it's face was empty and lifeless; all it had was a thin pale mouth, which skewed over itself every time it spoke.

"AAAIIII" It was reaching out towards him with cold, thin fingers and Jaden felt a foul smell of burning plastic cover his nostrils. Its fingers were close to touching Jaden; he started to sweat as they reached for his pupils!

Struggling against the empty space, the fingers crept closer and closer. He was trapped; kicking, screaming and biting at the air but he couldn't turn away. "DARREN!" He tried to scream but nothing came out. Sweat was pouring down his face, he wriggled and thrashed but the hand just got closer, he tried to force his eyes shut but they remained lodged open as the hand brushed over his cheek.

"THE EYE!" It shouted one final time just as Darren lost balance, scraping both bike and body against the walls and bringing Jaden thundering back to reality. He grabbed his face, poking and pinching it to make sure it was all still there.

They were coming to the end of the passage; the rocks started to curve into a tunnel shape and the armies had been left behind. The tunnel was quite short and they could see the end quite easily.

"KAIBA TOWER COME IN" tried Darren again, still no reply. Something strange was happening, the sunlight at the edge of the tunnel was flickering, only slightly but all three of them noticed it. Jaden and Darren were confused, Oskar however had guessed what was about to happen and it was too late to slow down.

"Oh hell." He said.

 _Tribute_

The bikes jolted side to side as they tried to dodge the blasts, the very desert seemed to set alight. The flying creatures had flown over the top and caught up with them easily. Shockwaves and fireballs obliterated the land as the flying fiends attacked the team.

Jaden saw no other way out; he balanced himself on the bike and stood tall ready to duel. He drew three monster cards and prepared his disk.

"I summon... Agh!" Cut off by Darren as he pulled him back down.

"Don't be stupid, you'll kill us all!" He thundered angrily.

"He's right though. There's only one way out." Said Oskar whilst dodging another comet. They were riding round in circles, in every direction apart the way they needed to go. "Darren, get ready." Said Oskar as he drew his cards

"Be careful lad." Said Darren, quieter and more serious than ever.

Another attack came crashing down, hitting the ground in front of Oskar's bike. He was thrown into the air and launched his duel disk mid flight. As he landed he was hit by another cascade of assaults but they all fell short at his Scrap Iron Scarecrow that triggered just in time.

"Defender, the Magical Knight, clear a path!" A large and wide magician emerged just in front of Darren, carrying a huge shield that he used to smash the attacks away. There was no time to look back, Darren saw his opening and took it - they soared through the desert leaving the army behind. The magician floated smoothly along side them, grunting every time he blocked an attack. Meanwhile Oskar was surrounded by beasts, he was almost dancing rather than dueling summoning monster after monster holding them all at bay. Then he heard a vile humming noise, Jinzo and his army of beasts had caught up. All it took was one stretch of Jinzo's arm and Oskar's scarecrow was gone.

"Agh!" He cried as a fireball burst open at his feet, he was blown backwards onto his side as the monsters closed in.

Jaden and Darren tore through the land, most of the creatures were beaten but the magician was also beginning to fade.

"No!" Wailed Darren as it vanished completely.

"It's Oskar, he's…. he's." His voice wavered, unable to finish.

"No." Said Jaden to himself. A roar came from ahead, both Jaden and Darren looked up as a dazzling bright light appeared in the distance, it was coming towards them and coming fast. "Darren, look out!" Called Jaden. The light seemed to morph into the shape of a dragon.

"No…" Said Darren, excitedly. "It's Kaiba!"

He shot past like a bolt of lightening, riding a much bigger motorbike and closely followed by his Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Neutron Blast Attack!"

The remaining monsters were demolished in an instant and Kaiba carried on towards where Oskar had been dueling.

Darren waved his arms in the air and cheered.

"We're almost there lad, look!" Jaden saw a shimmering building in the distance; it had appeared just as quickly as the Hold dissolved, he guessed it must use a similar cloaking trick.

The tower stood alone; there was nothing nearby apart from more desert. It was huge, easily the tallest in the world – definitely this one anyway – and covered with blue tinted windows. At the front of the building lay the infamous White Dragon statues that remained perfectly polished and undamaged. Jaden wondered how a single person could possess the energy to transport such a palace.

But more importantly, he wondered about Oskar.

 _END OF PART ONE_


End file.
